After Settling Community and Conservationist Litigation, SWEPCO Coal-Fired Plant to Open in 2012

Following years of litigation—and copious concessions—Southwestern Electric Power (SWEPCO)  has cleared the way for completion of the first U.S. ultra-supercritical (USC) coal-fired generation plant, to be located in Texarkana in southwestern Arkansas. The $2.1 billion, 600-megawatt (MW) John W. Turk Jr. Power Plant—which has been under construction since 2008— is scheduled to start operations in 2012.

What exactly is a USC coal-fired power plant? In a conventional sub-critical steam generation unit, the system operates at pressures that convert water to steam through the process of boiling. At supercritical pressures, water is heated to produce steam through a gradual expansion without boiling. With efficiencies in the 40 percent range, as compared to efficiencies of 32 percent with sub-critical systems, USC technology produces electricity using less fuel. Because less coal is consumed, emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxide (NOx), mercury (Hg), carbon dioxide (CO2) and particulate and solid waste byproducts also are reduced.

In addition to improved environmental performance due to reduced coal use, USC technology at the Turk plant will be paired with state-of-the-art emission control technologies.

Still, the Turk plant, which will generate enough power for 450,000 homes, has long been a source of strife among environmental groups and potential neighbors—who worried that it would disgorge pollutants that cause acid rain, and threaten some of the region's pristine cypress trees and wildlife.

In July, SWEPCO reached a settlement with the plant’s neighbors in Texarkana, predicated on the utility’s commitments not to construct any additional generation units at the Turk site, not to propose any new coal-fired power plants within 30 miles of the site, and not to install transmission wires across sensitive environmental areas. SWEPCO also promised to support ecological activities in the area.

However, at that time, the National Audubon Society, Audubon Arkansas, and the Sierra Club continued to challenge the air permit for the site before the Arkansas Court of Appeals and the Army Corps of Engineers permit in a companion case pending before the U.S. District Court in Texarkana. Now, the utility has settled all legal actions brought against it by the environmentalists, as well.

As part of the second settlement, a 528-megawatt coal-fired unit near Pittsburg, Texas, will be limited to no more than 60 percent of its annual capacity, as soon as the Turk plant opens. Down the road, the utility will retire the Welsh 2 Texas plant no later than the end of 2016. In addition, SWEPCO will reimburse the environmental groups for $2 million in legal costs, and provide $10 million to other groups for energy-efficiency advocacy and land conservation efforts.

In a joint statement, Audubon and Sierra announced “a legal settlement with Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO), a subsidiary of American Electric Power (AEP), that phases out Welsh 2, a dirty coal plant upwind of Arkansas in Northeastern Texas, provides hundreds of megawatts of new clean energy for the region, secures $10 million for land conservation and energy-efficiency advocacy, and limits development of additional plants and transmission lines. The settlement brings to an end a four-year high-profile public battle over the construction of the Turk coal-fired power plant in Southwest Arkansas.”

David Yarnold, Audubon president and CEO, commented, “Two words: cleaner air. That’s what this agreement will deliver. It requires the nation’s largest coal burner to retire one of its dirtiest plants and it funds conservation of wetlands and forests for Arkansans. Just as important, it increases SWEPCO’s use of renewable wind and solar energy in a part of the country that trails other regions.”

“While we'd prefer that the Turk plant not be built, [Thursday's] settlement brings some very good news for Arkansas, which would not have been possible without years of citizen opposition to dirty coal plants," Glen Hooks, with Sierra Club, said in a statement.

The agreement, which was expected to be filed in federal court on December 22, withdraws all legal challenges to permits and certificates required to build and run the Turk plant, SWEPCO said. A preliminary injunction will be lifted, too, allowing workers to finish construction on part of the plant's water system.

Venita McCellon-Allen, SWEPCO president and chief operating officer, said, “We are proud to be building the Turk Plant—not only for the service it will provide our customers and the boost it is already giving to the Arkansas economy, but also because it demonstrates our commitment and ability to meet stringent environmental standards set by federal and state regulatory agencies.”

SWEPCO, which owns 73 percent of the plant, is a unit of Columbus, Ohio-based American Electric Power, one of the largest electric utilities in the nation. SWEPCO serves more than 500,000 customers in Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas. AEP delivers electricity to more than 5 million customers in 11 states.